Grammar term · Nahw · syntax
لَا النَّاهِيَة
la al-nahiya
La of prohibition
Nahw · syntaxParticle typecore term
Also written: Nafy · Laysa · La of negation · Not in Arabic
In one line
The لا of prohibition — “do not!”: it clips the present verb like a command in reverse.
Classical definition
لَا النَّاهِيَةُ حَرْفٌ يَجْزِمُ الفِعْلَ المُضَارِعَ وَيُفِيدُ طَلَبَ الكَفِّ عَنِ الفِعْلِ.
“The la of prohibition is a particle that puts the present verb into jazm and conveys a demand to refrain from the action.”
(بتصرف من ابن هشام)
Key words in the Arabic
طَلَب الْكَفِّdemanding refraining
يَجْزِمُputs into jazm
Understand it
Three different لاs share one letter-shape, and the grammar tells them apart: prohibiting لا clips the verb (لَا تَقْرَبُوا — nun gone), negating لا leaves it whole (لَا يَعْلَمُونَ), and category-لا governs a noun (لَا إِلَٰهَ). Read the ending of what follows and the لا identifies itself.
How to spot it
Recognition test
لا + clipped mudari' addressed at someone = a prohibition.
In the Qur'an
وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا۟ ٱلزِّنَىٰٓ
Al-Isra 17:32 — “And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse”
لَا clips تَقْرَبُوا — the dropped nun is the jazm of prohibition.
Related terms
▶ Watch the lessons
From the free course The Language of Quran — Easier than English (Book 1) (LoQ1), taught by Ustad Muhammad Arjan Ali.